There was a chaotic scene in the ongoing demolition exercise in the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) exercise as Mayor Ebi Bright was nearly attacked by Tema residents.
In a viral video, some Tema residents were protesting the destruction of their structures.
The Tema Mayor Ebi Bright, on the scene, was nearly mobbed by the Tema residents; her police security detail was seen pushing back some of the men who were confronting her.
Ebi Bright, in the video, was heard telling the leaders of the committee to call their boys to order, adding that the demolition is to ensure that only illegal residences are demolished and not businesses.
The Tema Mayor explained as she was surrounded, “That is not why I’m not moving from here; I have protection… What we agreed on was that we cannot allow all these houses and the rest, but arrange your shops. If you are doing commercial activities, we are giving you guidelines to arrange it, but as for houses, you cannot sleep here”.
Meanwhile, in Accra, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Ocloo and her team have continued their demolition exercise along the Kpeshie Lagoon.
On day two of the demolition, a newly constructed storey building on the Tse Addo side of the Kpeshie Lagoon was demolished.
The video posted by CDR Africa was captioned, “Day 2 of demolition: The Natural Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) continues the dismantling of unauthorised structures at Tse Addo, including a newly constructed storey building, on the Ise Addo side of the Kpeshie Lagoon”.
Also, Ing. Abdulai Mahama, a road and building consultant, has backed the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Ocloo, and her team for the ongoing demolition of structures encroaching on the Kepshie Lagoon.
The road and building consultant commended Linda Ocloo for her work so far, adding that the exercise was a necessary step to avert recurring floods in the capital.
According to him, the reclamation of lagoons, streams, and ponds has significantly increased Ghana’s vulnerability to flooding.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Tuesday, January 27, Ing. Mahama stated, “Thumbs up to the Greater Accra Regional Minister and the team for what they are doing. I don’t know the persistence with which Ghanaians move to fill lakes, streams and ponds.
It looks like we don’t want them, yet the benefit of rivers and ponds is that, when we have a large volume of water, they accommodate it and release it gradually into the surrounding dry land”.
“But the more we consume these lakes and wetlands, the more we expose ourselves to massive floods that will inundate the country. On this call, I want to applaud the Minister,” he said.
Watch the video below: